1st build in 7 years - i7-12700 or i7-12700K?

[NutMan]

Hi folks, first post here in many years - would like to seek some advice on a build I'm looking at.

My 7-year-old system is likely to die soon. It's an i7-6700 non-K on an Asus Z170 Maximus VIII Gene motherboard.

I'm looking to get an Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming Wifi motherboard (I don't see the point in paying for the Maximus series) for future-proofing for DDR5. I like the fact that it's got 4 M.2 slots and 6 SATA 3.0 ports. I already have 2 4TB HDD in RAID 1 and 2 SATA SSDs for games.

I do game, mainly games like Doom Eternal, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Mechwarrior 5 - on my old GTX1080 Founder's Edition graphics card.

Some light video editing on DaVinci and Premiere Pro, some photo editing with GIMP or Photoshop, but my work is mainly emails, Word and PowerPoint documents.

I do not plan to overclock, but I understand that the K version has a higher base clock and theoretically faster.

If anything, getting a K processor is just to say that I've had an unlocked CPU before. And I hope this system will last me another 5-7 years.

But my main concern is heat (my study is not air conditioned), power consumption and real-world advantage in terms of gaming or productivity with K processors. I did try an AIO liquid cooler 6 years ago, but felt that it was too complicated and stuck to air cooling.

My questions are:
1. I should get an i7-12700K or the i7-12700 non-K? Because I'm set on a Z690 board, it's also kind of a waste not to get a K processor?
2. If I go with the i7-12700K, can I get away with CPU air cooling since I don't overclock or do I have to use liquid cooling? I'm using a CM NR600 mid-tower case, so if using an AIO, I'd get a 240mm radiator and top-mount.

Happy to hear from the gurus out there.

Thank you!

 

[NightRaven49]

for ur express needs for 4x m2 and 6x sata, only z690 boards offer that (the strix board in particular is the only model asus offers with that much storage connections). and yes, if u opt z690 it seems abit wasted to not get a k sku. but if u are willing to give up just 1 m2 slot, msi offers the b660 tomahawk with ddr5 with 3x m2 slots and 6x sata, and the 12700 non k would make a lot more sense and this is what i would recommend given that 1) u said u dont look to oc and 2) productivity wise the premium u spend on the 12700k would barely be noticeable. yes the base speed is a lot higher on the 12700k but this only matters when doing core heavy tasks (which ur main workflow does not seem to be) and using a board that enforces power limits; games still dont tax all cores at once and hence u can usually see the cpu hit its turbo frequency and they are quite similar for the k and non k skus which means that for gaming they will perform identically. in terms of actual power consumption both are quite similar too, though if u are really concerned about heat output, limiting the cpu to 65w would make more sense on the 12700 non k. hwu did a good video on the 12700 and while the focus was vs the 5800x, there is also 12700k data that u can compare it to and see for urself if it is worth it,

 

[watzup_ken]

I feel it depends on the price delta between the 2. The higher clockspeed on the K variant generally don’t translate to a meaningful gain in performance in my opinion. The base clockspeed is higher on the K variant, but I don’t believe that the CPU will stick to base clock most if not all the time as long as there is sufficient power, motherboard don’t throttle it, and/or, there is sufficient cooling. Either the 12700K or 12700 can survive on air cooling. I’ve air cooled my 12700K before using a dual fan (push pull config) on the ID Cooling SE 226 XT. So I can confirm that it works as long as you get one of the better air cooler.
As to using a Z690, you can also consider a H670 since the feature sets are pretty close. You save some money, though not a lot by moving down to the H670.

 

[haylui]

5800x3d ...

 

[trenzterra]

I think K skus are generally better binned so I would get that

 

[Clearnfc]

Since you only upgrade once in a blue moon, i have to say just get the fastest you can afford.

As for "future proofing", i have to say dont bother. Both amd and intel are doing literally annual/bi-annual processor releases and and quickly renders things obsolete. 13th gen raptor lake will be end of this year and 14th gen likely somewhere in 2023.

For cooling, yes! Water cooling helps alot due to alderlake's very high power consumption in turbo mode. So with sufficient cooling, alder lake will now run at its fastest possible speed without throttling

 

[Phen8210]

I do game, mainly games like Doom Eternal, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Mechwarrior 5 - on my old GTX1080 Founder's Edition graphics card.

Some light video editing on DaVinci and Premiere Pro, some photo editing with GIMP or Photoshop, but my work is mainly emails, Word and PowerPoint documents.

I'm looking to get an Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming Wifi motherboard (I don't see the point in paying for the Maximus series) for future-proofing for DDR5. I like the fact that it's got 4 M.2 slots and 6 SATA 3.0 ports. I already have 2 4TB HDD in RAID 1 and 2 SATA SSDs for games.

Understood.

I do not plan to overclock, but I understand that the K version has a higher base clock and theoretically faster.

If anything, getting a K processor is just to say that I've had an unlocked CPU before. And I hope this system will last me another 5-7 years.

Should I get an i7-12700K or the i7-12700 non-K? Because I'm set on a Z690 board, it's also kind of a waste not to get a K processor?

I understand you get the Z690 board for extra features and not planning to overclock.

The 12700F is cheaper and has 99% performance of (12700KF @ stock) with around ~$100 price difference.

Make a logical decision based on looking into the facts and ask yourself if the 1% more performance from the K variant at stock is worth your $100 bucks or not since you are not overclocking?

But my main concern is heat (my study is not air conditioned)

Since your usage doesn't seem to have a prolonged full core workload and you already decided not to overclock, the heat shouldn't be an issue.

But if you want as little heat as possible, it's to go with the non-k chip.

As shown, 12700K @ stock draws around 10% more power during a full core workload.

If I go with the i7-12700K, can I get away with CPU air cooling since I don't overclock or do I have to use liquid cooling? I'm using a CM NR600 mid-tower case, so if using an AIO, I'd get a 240mm radiator and top-mount.

You can do air cooling with no issues regardless of which CPU you pick as they are nearly identical at stock settings.

For the cooler, the Fuma 2 Rev B will do a very good job at a very fair price. The original Fuma 2 is good, but the rev B is even better. It checks all boxes and also provides native LGA 1700 support which you require for 12th gen. To put this in laymen's terms, you will need a solid 360 AIO to declare a clean victory against this in terms of noise normalized cooling, which is 2-3x the price.

ID-Cooling SE 226 XT is also an okay and a cheaper option. For stock fan config, it should be OK, but if you are considering paying to add a fan onto it, then you might as well pay for a Fuma 2 rev b because it does even better.

 

[ragnarok95]

12700K and Z690 if only those 2 choices.

 

[obichacha]

12700k with any Z690 mobo and 360mm AIO , this is prefer setup

 

[Hailgod]

if u buying a 800$ mobo, just go 12900k, clearly money is of no object

if u want a value for money setup, its like 4-500$ mobo + 12700/f.

 

[tang_tang]

Sorry. I would like to ask i7-12700 and i7-12700f. The i7-12700 come with Intel® UHD Graphics 770 and i7-12700f do not have. What is this UHD Graphics 770 use for ah? Any significant different if i would like to use for a gaming PC?

 

[KYZT2021]

In the event your GPU spoil you still got display output when buying the non F

 

[ragnarok95]

Sorry. I would like to ask i7-12700 and i7-12700f. The i7-12700 come with Intel® UHD Graphics 770 and i7-12700f do not have. What is this UHD Graphics 770 use for ah? Any significant different if i would like to use for a gaming PC?

Onboard graphic. So if you do not have a graphic card insert, you can still use the onboard graphic.

 

[Phen8210]

Sorry. I would like to ask i7-12700 and i7-12700f. The i7-12700 come with Intel® UHD Graphics 770 and i7-12700f do not have. What is this UHD Graphics 770 use for ah? Any significant different if i would like to use for a gaming PC?

No difference. You won't be using the onboard graphics as you already have a dedicated card in your system.

2 options if you need a backup GPU

1. Purchase an old GPU for below $50 on carousell and skip paying for iGPU now and in the future. The common ones in this price range are GTX 750, 650, 560, 630, etc.
2. Pay for a CPU with integrated graphics and also in the future.

Around 7 years ago, I paid $50 for a gtx560ti and then sold it for $50 last year. At the time of purchase, the value has already diminished and flattened out. This means that the net cost of this "backup plan" for the past few years is literally zero. Since it's a dedicated card, it can also serve as a backup for all the other systems in my household, which an iGPU cannot accomplish.

So to answer your question, the best way to justify getting an iGPU is if you are going to use it. However, it really is your own choice and you may have concerns that I do not.

 

[gld998]

Hi folks, first post here in many years - would like to seek some advice on a build I'm looking at.

My 7-year-old system is likely to die soon. It's an i7-6700 non-K on an Asus Z170 Maximus VIII Gene motherboard.

I'm looking to get an Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming Wifi motherboard (I don't see the point in paying for the Maximus series) for future-proofing for DDR5. I like the fact that it's got 4 M.2 slots and 6 SATA 3.0 ports. I already have 2 4TB HDD in RAID 1 and 2 SATA SSDs for games.

I do game, mainly games like Doom Eternal, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Mechwarrior 5 - on my old GTX1080 Founder's Edition graphics card.

Some light video editing on DaVinci and Premiere Pro, some photo editing with GIMP or Photoshop, but my work is mainly emails, Word and PowerPoint documents.

I do not plan to overclock, but I understand that the K version has a higher base clock and theoretically faster.

If anything, getting a K processor is just to say that I've had an unlocked CPU before. And I hope this system will last me another 5-7 years.

But my main concern is heat (my study is not air conditioned), power consumption and real-world advantage in terms of gaming or productivity with K processors. I did try an AIO liquid cooler 6 years ago, but felt that it was too complicated and stuck to air cooling.

My questions are:
1. I should get an i7-12700K or the i7-12700 non-K? Because I'm set on a Z690 board, it's also kind of a waste not to get a K processor?
2. If I go with the i7-12700K, can I get away with CPU air cooling since I don't overclock or do I have to use liquid cooling? I'm using a CM NR600 mid-tower case, so if using an AIO, I'd get a 240mm radiator and top-mount.

Happy to hear from the gurus out there.

Thank you!

Avoid f intel processors. Premire pro got use internal and gpu combine.



b660 if u dont overclock save a bit on board, Avoid Asus Strix if u going for ddr5. Got compatibility issue. MSI Unify or GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G better choice. If u can wait then get the 13th gen coming very soon.

I m using i9 12900 non k and just unlock power limit in BIOS then finetune using Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility. Got it below 700.